


Instrument Of Your Pain

by muses_circle, xtremeroswellian



Series: Two Guys, a Girl and a Chevy Impala [20]
Category: Smallville, Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Mindfuck, Snark, Trauma, spells
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:35:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24080674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muses_circle/pseuds/muses_circle, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Dean, Sam and Sarah try to figure out how to save Chloe when a spell keeps her trapped in a nightmare with Lex.
Relationships: Chloe Sullivan & Sam Winchester, Chloe Sullivan & Sarah Blake, Chloe Sullivan/Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Sarah Blake/Sam Winchester
Series: Two Guys, a Girl and a Chevy Impala [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722754





	Instrument Of Your Pain

The morning sun streaming through the worn, moth eaten curtains woke Dean up, the spotty light like a caress against his face. He cocked one eye open and grunted, his mind foggy with sleep and dreams of a future he hoped to have one day. But that didn't alter the fact that he needed a minute to realize where he was: Bobby's hunting cabin, a warm female body pressed closely against his.

He turned to find Chloe nestled in the crook of his neck, his arm flung around her, holding her close. He smiled and kissed her forehead gently, serenity replacing the remnants of the uncertainty from the night before. She looked like an angel, forehead smooth as porcelain, unblemished by the world's troubles. Her breathing was even and regular, so he took a moment and watched her before his hand trailed down her arm and settled on her waist. As much as he wanted this moment to last forever, they still had work to do. A war to prepare for. "Hey, wake up," he whispered and gently bit her earlobe. 

Chloe's breathing continued its steady pattern, no flicker of awareness appearing on her face as she slept in his arms, her body still. 

When she didn't move, Dean chuckled to himself. They'd had a busy night, so to speak, and he momentarily prided himself on wearing her out. He yawned lazily, a gentle smirk on his face, and trailed a finger up her stomach, cupping her breast lightly. "Chlo, it's morning," he whispered again, his hand rubbing her breast while he licked her neck.

However, when she made no movement, no eyelids slipping open to greet him, no soft, sleepy smile, Dean became worried. Chloe was usually awake by now, especially since he knew how to wake her up, and the fact that she wasn't troubled him. So he sat up and pulled her with him. To his everlasting dismay, she slouched in his arms, limp as a noddle.

He touched her neck and felt a pulse. She was alive, and he exhaled his pent up breath. Shaking her a little, Dean called out her name loudly. “Chloe!”

Nothing.

"Dammit," he said to the empty cabin and looked for his jeans. He slipped his cell from one of the front pockets. He yanked his boxers and jeans and then next to Chloe's sleeping body and put her head in his lap, stroking her hair. He clicked on Sam's cell number and dialed it with a deep frown on his face.

&&&&&

It had been a long night at Bobby's: Sam and Sarah had spent the night in the older man's guest room while Ava slept in the back room. Sam knew none of them had gotten much sleep: their worry for Chloe, the new addition to their little group, and the upcoming battle weighing heavily on all their minds. He drew in a breath and looked at Sarah in the dim morning light, where she lay curled up against him, her eyes open. She looked as dismayed as he felt. "Morning," he whispered. 

"Morning," she whispered back, a small smile on her lips despite her troubled look. "Did you sleep?" 

A wry smile touched his lips. "Not much." He stroked her hair gently, placing a kiss to her forehead. "I know you didn't either." 

Sarah stroked his stubbly cheek and sighed. "Am I that transparent?" she teased lightly, though the amusement didn't reach her eyes. She would have thought after all the lovemaking the day before that they'd both be exhausted, yet all she could do was think about Chloe. Was she okay? Was Dean taking care of her? And additionally, who was Ava and what were they going to do with her? She felt the beginning of a massive headache coming on.

"I know. So many questions," he murmured, rubbing her back in soothing, circular motions. "I wish we had some answers. I wish--" He was interrupted when his cell phone rang. "That's Dean," he said without looking at the caller ID, his eyebrows furrowing as he reached out and grabbed the phone. "Hey." He pressed the phone to his ear. 

"Houston, we have a fucking problem." 

The tension and borderline fear in his older brother's voice made him sit up abruptly. "What now?" he asked, looking at Sarah with worry in his eyes. Had Chloe taken off again? 

"No she hasn't taken off again," Dean snapped, having heard his brother's mental question. "She's asleep and I can't wake her up!" He fought back the panic that threatened to flood his soul.

Sam's stomach twisted into a knot. "What the hell do you mean you can't wake her up?" 

He sighed and looked down at Chloe, who was snoring softly and in no way responding to violently shaking her shoulder. "What you mean, what the hell do I mean? Sam, I can't wake her up. I've tried everything short of smacking her, which I might resort to if you don't stop asking stupid questions."

Sarah sat up and pulled the sheet around her. "Sam? What is it?" she asked, the worry written in her voice. Based on her husband's voice and the deep crease in his brow, something was wrong with either Dean or Chloe. She blanched at the thought.

"We'll be there as soon as we can get there," Sam said shortly, his face grim. "Just...hold on." 

"Get your ass up here," Dean grunted, "but not too quickly. Gotta get her dressed." He didn't wait for a response but shut his phone, shoved it in his pocket, and looked down at Chloe. His face fell into sadness and worry. Everything had been okay, right? he asked himself. Had he done something, said something? Why couldn't they cut a break for once? Were they both doomed to fail somehow? He shook his head and looked around for her clothes wearily.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Sarah's voice was sharp as she watched her husband leap out of bed and grab some clean clothes. 

"You need to get dressed. Dean can't get Chloe to wake up," he said quietly, gazing at her worriedly. 

She swallowed hard because her mouth felt like cotton. "Oh God, why not?" She scooted off the bed and watched Sam scoop up something for her to wear. She yanked on her underwear, followed by her nearly too tight jeans and a shirt. 

"I don't know," he admitted. "But we gotta get out there as soon as possible and figure out what to do." 

She nodded and didn't even bother buttoning her jeans. She needed maternity clothes, but she'd have to worry about that later. Right now, Chloe was in trouble. And from the deep frown on Sam's face, she knew Dean was in panic mode. She followed Sam out of the bedroom. 

Bobby was in his library, his nose stuck in a spell book. No doubt he was looking for something to assist them in the oncoming fight. However, Sam couldn't think about that. He, instead, cast Bobby a sidelong glance as they made a beeline for the door. "Chloe's in trouble. We'll be back," he said quickly. 

"And what am I supposed to do with the sleeping chick in the back of the house?" he grumbled quietly. 

He shot him a look. "Keep her here. We need her, too." 

Bobby bit back a grin as he watched Sam and Sarah leave the house, hand in hand, for the Impala. He's becoming more like John everyday, he wondered briefly before he stood up and headed for his cabinet of books. That was a good thing; they were going to need it for the fight ahead. 

&&&&&

The smell of smoke made her stomach roll as she stood over her overheated car engine. Shutting her eyes, she sagged against the car for a moment, frustrated. Just her luck. She pulled out her cell phone and called Triple A, reporting her situation and groaning involuntarily when they told her it'd be at least two hours before they could get there. Figures, she thought. She glanced up as she spotted a familiar black car driving toward her. Frowning a little, she straightened, feeling an odd sense of deja vu wash over her. "Dean?" she murmured. 

To her surprise, the car sped right past her and she turned to watch them go, confusion on her face. That wasn't how it was supposed to happen, was it? She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. 

"You thought they were going to stop, didn't you?" a smug voice asked from behind her, like a whisper on the wind. 

Her body went rigid at the familiar voice. She quickly turned to see Lex Luthor there a few feet away. All the air left her lungs. "You're dead." 

"No thanks to you," he replied and fisted his hands in his pockets. "Loved the irony of the situation, by the way. Saving your lover from a fate worse than death? Priceless." 

She lifted her chin, her eyes dark. "I'd do it again." 

He nodded, eyes glittering dangerously. He took several steps towards her and leaned into her. "I know, Chloe. Which is why I'm going to make you wish you'd never been born." 

&&&&&

It took Sam less than forty minutes to find Bobby's old hunting cabin, which was farther up in the mountains than he had thought. "There it is," he said grimly, driving the Impala down the old dirt road that led to the middle of a heavily forested area. 

Sarah's hands remained clenched tightly in her lap as they pulled up next to the Harley Dean and Chloe had taken the night before. The cabin was, at best, two steps from the demolition ball. The rickety front porch looked unstable, and Sarah wondered how the current inhabitants had managed to get inside without falling off the stairs. They had barely stopped before she was out of the car, though. Broken steps weren't going to stop them.

Sam was hot on her heels as he followed her to the door, not bothering to knock before opening it and holding it open for Sarah before stepping inside himself. His gaze immediately fell on Dean, who was sitting on the bed in the corner, Chloe's head in his lap as she slept. "Dean?" 

"'Bout damn time you got here," he grumbled, his gaze fixated on Chloe. He was waiting for something, a sign she was about to wake up. A touch, a movement. A flutter of eyelashes. However, aside from the faint frown gracing her lips, she hadn't snapped out of whatever held her hostage.

Sarah sat down on the small bed and touched Chloe's cheek gently. "Theories, guys?" She looked at them, a glint of weary determination in her eyes. 

Sam drew in a breath, sitting down on the other side of Dean and looking down at Chloe's still form. "Good question." He glanced at his brother. "I'm assuming you've ruled out all possible natural causes." 

Dean rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah," he snapped and touched Chloe's cheek. "She didn't take anything last night. She doesn't have any kind of weird narcoleptic issues. It has to be a spell."

"A spell?" Sarah's eyes grew wide. "Who would --?" She glanced at Sam. 

Sam shook his head a little. "I don't wanna think what I'm thinking." His voice was grim and he rose to his feet, slowly pacing the floor. 

"What the hell else could it be, Sammy?" Dean demanded. "Wouldn't put it past the demonic bastard. Hell, it could be the Meg demon for all we know."

"But how, Dean?" Sarah asked cautiously. "How could it cast a spell on her? You were... um... with her all night, right?" She couldn't help the faintest blush on her cheeks.

Dean gave her a strange look. "No, I thought I'd go hunting bears," he snapped without thinking. "Of course I was with her all night."

"Hey, don't get snide with me, Dean Winchester," Sarah warned and jabbed his chest with her finger. "I'm hormonal and not afraid to use force." 

"The closer we get to this confrontation with that yellow eyed bastard, the more he throws out roadblocks to try and stop us," Sam murmured, barely hearing their bickering as he continued to pace. "Ava said some kind of a demon tried to kill her and Chloe both back in Peoria." 

"Yeah, about that," Dean said and looked at Sam. "I managed to walk Chloe through the exorcism of that demon, and from the sounds of things, it wasn't pretty." 

"I wondered how she pulled that off. She hates Latin." 

"It's call reciting, Sam. It's how you learned, remember? Dad would say it and you'd repeat it?" Dean sighed and looked back to Chloe's inert figure. _Please, Chloe, wake up. Don't let that bastard get to you._

Sarah stood up and rubbed her stomach. "So we take her back to Bobby's and find something to snap her out of it." 

An odd sense of deja vu washed over him and he turned to meet Sarah's eyes. He couldn't believe what he was about to tell them. "I think I know how to wake her up." 

"What?" Sarah and Dean chimed in together. 

"The spell we used when she was in the hospital," he said quietly, shifting his gaze to Dean. 

"You think that spell's going to work twice?" Dean replied. "That thing nearly didn't work the first time."

"But it's worth a shot," Sarah interjected. "That spell Sam, Bobby, and I did to protect the baby... I don't think this would harm him, would it?" 

"No," Sam said without hesitation, shaking his head. "He'll be fine." He reached out and touched her arm. 

It was the craziest thing his brother had ever suggested. Possibly the stupidest. But it was all they had. "Okay, then," Dean stated and cradled Chloe close to his chest as he stood up. "But I'm driving. Sam, guess you're stuck with the Harley." 

"Guess you're stuck with Dean," Sam said wryly, glancing at his wife. 

"Don't worry, Sam," she replied and followed them out the cabin door, "I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Dean rolled his eyes and focused on Chloe's face as it rested on his shoulder. "Not gonna do anything stupid," he grumbled and headed for the Impala. 

"Yeah. Because that would be unlike you," Sam said under his breath, slowly following behind. 

"Shut up, dude," Dean ground out and moved Chloe's body into the backseat. He kissed her lips softly. "I love you and I'm going to get you back again," he whispered.

Sarah moved to Sam and wrapped her arms around him to give Dean a moment. "Be careful," she whispered into his chest. "I wish I could ride with you." 

"I will, I promise," he murmured, kissing the top of her head. "Feel free to smack him if he gets out of line." 

Her eyes shone with mischief. "Don't tempt me," she replied and kissed him quickly. She turned and got into the driver's side of the car and found Dean impatiently waiting for her.

"Play Kiss the Sam later, okay? Got more important things to do."

"Don't make me smack you, Dean. I've already gotten permission."

"Yeah?" he snarked and started the engine. "Do that and I'll put Nair in your shampoo." 

Sam shot him a glare from the bike. Do that and I'll superglue your whole body to the wall. He kicked the bike into gear. 

God, I was just kidding, dude! Dean put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. Speeding towards Bobby's, Dean only wanted to get Chloe back from wherever she was. He only hoped they would find her in time. 

&&&&&

She knew this room. This was her dorm room. What the hell was she doing there? How had she gotten there? Her eyebrows furrowed and when she turned to the door she spotted Clark across the room, striding toward her. "Clark?" she asked in confusion, her eyebrows furrowing. 

Clark's eyes ravaged her face and body, his own hard from wanting her. "Chloe," he rasped, his voice filled with seduction and want. "I'm here to comfort you." His eyes zeroed in on her breasts and flashed red.

"Funny how Clark has to be on red meteor rock to want you, Chloe," Lex said smugly from the dark back corner of the room. 

She whipped her head around to look at Lex. "That's the hell of it, Lex. You're assuming I still want Clark." 

"Something in the back of your mind will always want Clark," he replied with a knowing smirk on his thin lips. "Because he's the one who never loved you back. Never saw your potential. Purposely kept you at a distance." He glanced at Clark sinuously moving towards her like a cat hunting a mouse and pointed. "Look at him and tell me you don't want him." 

She turned her dark eyes back to Clark. His face was so familiar it almost hurt. She'd loved him for so many years. For most of her adult life. But she'd grown up. She wasn't that same naive girl from Smallville. "I don't want you," she said quietly, her voice serious. 

Clark merely cocked an eyebrow and smiled, his white teeth gleaming in the night. "We both know that's not true, Chlo," he whispered and stroked her hair gently as he sat on the bed next to her. "You've loved me all your life." 

She pulled away from him almost violently, her eyes narrowing. "I loved you once. I got over it, Clark. I'm in love with someone else." 

Before Clark could register surprise, Lex stepped out of the shadows. "But that's not what happened, is it, Chloe? Didn't you give into your need for Clark Kent? His words and machinations successfully got you into bed with him. You had loved him so much, and it didn't matter whether you thought he was one something, was it?" With a snap of his fingers, he sped them forward in her memory.

Clark sighed and pulled himself out of Chloe, his body satiated for the moment. "Damn, that was a wild ride." He smirked with triumph and paid little attention to her as he stood and started looking for his clothes. 

She looked down at her now naked body, shuddering involuntarily and quickly pulling the sheet over her. Her head was throbbing painfully. "What..." 

"Sorry, babe, gotta run," Clark replied and didn't turn to look at her. He shrugged on his clothes quickly.

"So how'd you feel after he fucked you and ran?" Lex asked honestly and raked a hateful glance over her body. 

She flinched at the horror she felt from the realization that he knew so many private, personal things about her. But she did her best to shove that aside and met his gaze with an unwavering one of her own, wrapping the blanket around her more closely and rising to her feet. "I got over it." 

"But I see the look on your face, Chloe," Lex replied casually. "You never felt so rejected in your life. Here's Clark, professing love for you, only to take his act to the door and leave you alone to your despair and depression." He smirked and watched Clark speed from the room. 

"You Luthors are always so heavy with the drama, aren't you?" she snarked, rolling her eyes. "I'm not denying it. But I got past it." She looked at him intently. 

Lex looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled. "Have you really? You mean, watching Clark move over you doesn't still give you a small thrill?" 

Chloe didn't smile back and she cried out in surprise as a blinding light enveloped her and suddenly she was in another room, lying on a different bed, Clark kissing her deeply yet hesitantly. 

Lex sat back and enjoyed the show. He watched Chloe's body writhe with passion under Clark as he kissed her. And he knew she was trapped in her own body, a slave to her body's desires. Seeing Chloe Sullivan unable to struggle because of the demon inhabiting and controlling her body was almost worth his death. 

Her mind was screaming, but in her body, Meg purred with pleasure. "I've always loved you, Clark." 

Clark tensed with surprise but didn't try to move from her. "You... do? Because I swore you were pretty adamant about --" His words were silenced when she put a finger over his mouth.

"Chloe, Chloe, Chloe," Lex said and leered over the spectacle. "You're as bad as Clark. Can't make up your mind about your feelings." He clicked his tongue like a mother hen. 

Fuck you, Lex, she thought fiercely, shutting her eyes against his intense gaze, feeling nausea twist her stomach, her head pounding harder than before. 

"No, that's going to be Clark's job in about a minute," Lex chuckled as he watched Clark shed his clothing quickly, followed by hers. 

No, no, no, she thought, tears welling in her eyes. This was wrong. She couldn't relive this. Not again. 

"Yes you can, Chloe," Lex hissed and sat down in one of the hotel room chairs. "You can... and you will. Because it's the least I deserve for what you did to me." 

&&&&&

Dean made it back to Bobby's in record time, with Sarah grabbing a hold of what she could to keep still. So when he skidded the car to a halt inside the junkyard, Sarah looked at him wearily. "Do you always have to drive like a maniac?"

He glared at her for a moment, then his gaze softened. "Only when it counts." He glanced in the backseat and got out quickly.

Sarah smiled sadly and pulled herself out of the passenger seat, almost colliding with Sam. 

"Easy," he whispered, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Come on." He took her by the hand and followed Dean into Bobby's house. 

"What's going on?" Bobby rose to his feet, worry creasing his brow. He tossed aside the book he'd been looking at all morning and left it on the coffee table.

"Chloe's under some kind of sleeping spell," Dean growled and carried the still sleeping Chloe inside the house and laid her gently onto the couch. "We have to do the Vulcan mind meld magic whammy again to dig her out." He sighed and rocked back on his heels, his face gently stroking her cheek.

Ava yawned and appeared from the hallway, her eyes alert and not a little scared from all the commotion. She looked at the blonde on the couch and blanched. "Oh God, she's dead, isn't she?" She put her hands over her mouth.

Sarah shook her head. "Not dead, Ava. Sleeping, or something." 

Sam regarded her for a moment. "Can you get her a cold washcloth for her forehead?" 

"Bathroom closet, second shelf," Bobby told Ava, nodding slightly. 

"Okay," she whispered and took off for the bathroom, feeling really uncertain and not a little freaked out.

"Sam, where is the spell book?" Sarah asked quickly.

"Yeah, can't do anything without the ingredients," Dean mumbled but paid little attention to the people behind him. Hang on, Chlo, we're coming, he mentally called to her. 

&&&&&

Trapped inside her body, she tried to claw her way out as Meg turned to smirk at Clark and Dean and tossed them both against the wall like they were ragdolls. She winced inwardly as Dean's head smacked back against it hard. Stop, she screamed. 

Lex merely laughed. "She can't hear you, Chloe," he said and walked right through Dean picking himself up and grabbing his holy water. "This is all just a re-enactment. Can't change what's already happened." He chuckled when Dean unscrewed the cap.

Good. At least that means you stay dead, she thought. 

Lex clicked his tongue once more. "You should be ashamed of yourself, Chloe. I would have expected better of you." He watched Dean splash holy water on her body, saw the demon inside writhe in pain, listened to it scream in pain. And smiled widely "Does that hurt you?" he asked. 

No. Only her, she responded. Holy water only hurts evil. I'm sure your skin would bubble.

Lex snapped his fingers and suddenly time had backed up... and Chloe was standing next to him, a third party watcher just like he was. The memory was still intact: the possessed Chloe and Clark were going at it like rabbits, but he knew Dean was seconds away from walking through the door. "Then let's get a little different perspective on the situation, shall we?" 

She shut her eyes. "Go to hell, Lex." 

"Already on my way there, thanks to you," he replied evenly and grabbed her shoulders, holding her tightly as time seemed to slow. Dean flung himself through the door, and Lex grinned at his pained expression. The way his hand tightened on the doorknob, the dark look of fury flicker in his eyes.

Chloe flinched at the sight of the hurt on Dean's face, the betrayal in his eyes. She swallowed hard, feeling sick to her stomach. "It wasn't me." 

"But what if it had been?" he asked smoothly. "Don't you know that's still Dean's worst nightmare?" 

"He knows it wasn't me," she said tensely. "I wouldn't do that to him. Ever." 

"Sure," he replied and watched the hate cross Dean's face. "But how do you imagine he's going to handle seeing our Mr. Kent again? Won't that betrayal remain when he sees Clark speak to you, to apologize for everything? When he pulls you aside, his hand touching yours, to assure you that he won't try anything ever?" 

She flinched, pressing both her hands against her temples as her headache grew in intensity. 

The scene shifted to one of darkness, pure black like he had ever seen. The void was calling him to hurry, get his job done, before he took the final plunge. "What's the matter?" Lex crooned melodically. "Head hurt? Feeling some pain maybe over that meeting?" 

She shuddered as she found herself staring into the dark void, her heart beating quickly in her chest. "What happened to you, Lex?" She turned to face him, shaking her head a little. "What happened that made you become so hateful and evil?" 

Lex shrugged and his face went completely blank. "It was my destiny. Just as my father was destined to become the world-infamous mogul, so it was my destiny to do great things. Running Clark off that bridge so many years ago accelerated that destiny. Turned it sour, because he was always in my way." He glanced at her. "Tell me how knowing him has made you a better person, Chloe. You're a freak. You tell me." 

"I may be a freak, but I don't torture innocent people for kicks," she responded, holding his gaze. "I don't enjoy other people's pain. I don't ruin lives because I'm a selfish, spoiled brat who's bored or having a bad day." 

Lex pulled her close, his breath warm on her face. "You don't know ruin and pain. Not yet. You have no idea what's waiting for you," he whispered. 

His grip on her arm was tight and she winced involuntarily. "No. But I have a pretty good idea of what's waiting for you," she whispered back. 

"My eternity'll be a walk in the park compared to what's in store for you." 

A flicker of uncertainty passed over her eyes. "Somehow I doubt hell is a walk in the park." 

"You know nothing of hell," Lex replied, his face a menace of hatred, evil, and utter despair. He turned her around and pushed her towards the void. "Care to get a sneak peek of hell?" 

She cried out involuntarily as she found herself falling into the void, shutting her eyes tightly, her stomach twisting. 

Suddenly the scene shifted to a small, dark room in New Jersey. The back room of a closed roadhouse bar. A large figure in the doorway loomed and the scent of gunpowder and blood, alcohol and death, permeated the room. The man held a gun in his hand, a thin trail of smoke wafting upward.

Fear clouded her eyes, her throat threatening to close at the all too familiar scene as Dean lay in her arms, the life slipping out of him. "No! No, stay with me," she pleaded, tears pooling in her eyes. 

"Stop," he grunted softly and tried to lift his hand to touch her cheek but couldn't.

From the shadows, Lex smirked at the scene. Tears streamed down Chloe's face and she cradled Dean Winchester's dying form in her arms. He had hit home finally, he knew that. "What if he dies? How are you going to make it?" 

She barely heard Lex's voice, her lips brushing against Dean's forehead. "You can't leave me. Please, Dean," she whispered, tears streaking her cheeks. 

"Chloe..." His words came out in a wistful sigh as he slipped beneath the pain and shut his eyes. The world fell away, the wound no longer burning. He gave into the numbness. 

"No!" The scream tore from her throat, pain threatening to rip her in half. 

&&&&&

Sam flinched at the sudden scream from Chloe's limp, pale body. "What the hell?" 

Dean froze as the sound, not quite human, pounded at his skull like a sledgehammer. "I don't know! Can we get the damn spell working please?" He pressed the cool washcloth against Chloe's contorted face and left it on her forehead. 

"Light the candles," he instructed Ava, who went around the small circle, looking frightened and pale. He drew in a breath, taking one of Sarah's hands in his own as he began to speak the Latin chant. 

Ava had no idea what was going on, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. But when Sarah gently squeezed her hand, she turned and looked at her.

"Just focus on healing Chloe, making her better," Sarah whispered with a nervous smile.

Nodding, Ava shut her eyes and tried to imagine how she could possibly make this almost stranger wake up.

Dean moved away from Chloe and joined the circle, and his eyes snapped shut as he called out for Chloe. The rest of the world fell away suddenly, Sam's chanting growing distant and the earth practically splitting apart as he moved through space and time for her. Chloe! 

She lay on the cold floor, still cradling his head in her arms as she wept silently. When she heard his voice, her eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "Stop, Lex," she whispered, her voice broken as she chalked it up to another mind game. 

"Why? I like watching you suffer. Makes up for not seeing you die when they come for you." 

"They who?" She shook her head a little, her face pale. 

"The demon army I helped create." 

She shut her eyes, her breathing labored and uneven as Dean's body grew cold in her arms. She didn't care if they came for her or not. Dean was dead. 

Lex watched her face crumple and fade into a pallor of defeat and death. He smirked. "Never knew you to quit, Chloe. Why give up now? It's just Dean. He's nothing more than a liability, isn't he?" 

"Leave her alone." Sam's voice was hard as he literally appeared from out of nowhere, his tall form dwarfing Lex's. 

She jerked her head up, startled. "Sam," she whispered, her voice pained. "I'm sorry." 

"Sorry for what?" Dean asked and appeared behind his brother. He honed in immediately at Chloe's shocked and tear-stained face. "Chloe, what's..." His voice trailed off when he saw a body in her arms covered in blood. What the--?

"I think it's time you went back to where you came from," Sam ordered, moving toward Lex with grace. 

"Dean?" Confusion flickered over her face. 

Lex laughed and watched the younger Winchester approach, fists clenched into tight balls. "And what? Kick my ass into eternity?" he answered and took a step back. "Nice try, Sam, but I'm controlling this dream sequence." He suddenly disappeared into the dark corner.

Dean crouched down and gently touched Chloe's cheek. His eyes were intense and dark with relief though tinged with anger. "You're okay," he rasped quietly and felt her smooth, damp skin. He looked up at Sam. "Where'd the bastard go?" he growled. 

"I don't know," he said, looking around. "Take care of Chloe." He glanced around and spotted Sarah approaching. "And Sarah." 

Dean grumbled inwardly but looked to Chloe. She was shaking like a leaf, so he pulled her into his arms. "Hey, it's okay," he whispered in her ear and pressed his lips to her forehead. "This is just a dream."

Sarah looked at Sam as he walked around the room for a moment before she sat down next to Dean. She put a hand on Chloe's shoulder and squeezed a little, tears in her eyes. "You have to wake up, Chlo," she whispered. 

She rested her head against Dean's shoulder, shuddering against him. "You died," she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. 

He chuckled softly and kissed her again. "But you brought me back, remember? Isn't this a memory?" 

Her eyebrows furrowed at his words, and she swallowed hard. When she looked down, the body, his body...was gone. She tightened her arms around him, meeting Sarah's eyes. "I'm sorry." 

The brunette smiled. "For what?" 

"Before," she whispered, reaching out and taking her friend's hand. 

"It's okay," she said and took Chloe's hand. "You were hurting. Sam and I can handle it."

"Besides, we're here to rescue you again," Dean murmured in her hair and turned his eyes towards his brother.

"He seems to be gone." Sam slowly moved over to the rest of his family, kneeling down beside Sarah and offering Chloe a gentle smile. "It's okay. You're safe. We're gonna get outta here." 

"How?" She looked at Dean, uncertainty in her eyes. 

"Just like last time, Chlo. You have to wake up."

"No, she can't wake up," Lex's voice sounded from above them. 

She flinched a little and shifted closer to Dean, burying her face against his neck. 

"Oh, she's gonna wake up," Sam informed him, rising to his feet once again and looking up. 

Lex laughed sarcastically. "Yeah? How's she going to do that when I've had help reinforcing the spell cast on her?"

Sarah blanched. The demon. She felt fear crawling around the pit of her stomach. Did the demon do this? she wondered.

"Oh yeah?" Dean snarled and tightened his grip on Chloe's body. "Too bad it didn't help you with your baldness, because I hear you can get one hell of a sunburn where you're going." 

Sam's smile was one devoid of humor. "You really think your demon's gonna win this? Think again, Luthor." 

Chloe tightened her arms around Dean as well. "What if he's right?" she whispered almost inaudibly. 

"Think again yourself, Freak Boy," Lex smirked and appeared before Sam, shrouded in darkness. "You think because you're big and bad and can move things with your mind, that's going to make any difference in the end? You're nothing."

"He's not," Dean answered Chloe softly and ignored Lex's taunts. He knew Sam could take care of himself. "Focus on wanting to wake up. That's got to do it." 

Swallowing hard, she pulled away a little, gazing at him intently. She hesitated a moment before pressing her lips against his, threading her fingers through his hair. 

Sam smirked back at Lex and focused his energy, watching with no small amount of pleasure as the man went flying backwards into the wall. 

Dean grabbed her waist and pressed her body into his as he slanted his mouth across hers, deepening their kisses. He closed his eyes and focused on only her and how she'd get them back. He vaguely heard Sarah's quiet laughter and the sound of flying ghosts.

"That all you got?" Lex said and panted a little as he remained pinned to the wall, the pressure on his chest growing. 

"You're done hurting my family," he said evenly, walking toward Lex, his gaze steady and sure. "Time for you to slide into hell where you belong." He lifted his chin and flung him into the other wall like a wet rag. 

Lex felt his insides explode like he'd been shot again. His head drooped to his chest when he felt the wall connect again. Only this time, he felt the vortex of Hell flare up and suck him down greedily. "NO! Not finished!" he screamed. 

"You're very finished," he said quietly, unaware of the glowing light enveloping his body even as the darkness enveloped Lex's. 

Lex never knew what hit him: the void yawned open, heat and horror pulsating around him. He had one last chance to scream protest when it swallowed him up and closed behind him.

Sarah's eyes grew wide at the sight and bit back a shudder of revulsion. She had seen her husband enveloped in a light brighter than anything she'd ever seen, but nothing would erase the sight of seeing someone sent to Hell. She stood up and moved towards Sam. "He's gone?" she whispered. 

"He's gone." He turned to look at her, pulling her into his arms in a gentle embrace. "Now we need to get out of here." Resting his chin on top of Sarah's head, he looked over to where Dean and Chloe were locked in one hell of an embrace of their own. 

The heat between them rose to a fevered pitch and he dug his fingers into her waist. "Chloe," he muttered against her urgent mouth, "what are you doing, besides making me horny?" 

"Trying to wake up," she whispered back, kissing him again. 

Sam hid a smile and shut his eyes. "Haven't you guys ever heard of there's no place like home?" 

"Yeah, just click your heels three times and make a wish?" Sarah smirked and buried her face into Sam's chest, her face red with embarrassment.

Dean pulled away and looked down at Chloe. "Nope, I like this way much better." He growled and crushed his lips onto hers once more. 

And suddenly the room was flooded with light and Chloe moaned softly as her head pounded. "Dean..." 

Sam opened his eyes and found himself sitting in the middle of Bobby's living room once more, Sarah beside him. 

The heat of their mutual desire thrumming through his veins, Dean scooted away from the circle and knelt by the couch. His arms encircled her body. "Chloe," he rasped quietly and looked into her hazy, sleepy emerald eyes. 

She leaned into his embrace, brushing her lips against his without thinking about it, just needing to feel him closer. Her hands braced lightly against his chest as her eyes drifted shut. 

A little taken back by her caresses, Dean leaned into her kisses and brushed her hair from her face as they kissed, oblivious to everyone in the room.

Sarah smirked a little and glanced at Sam shyly.

Ava, on the other hand, took one look at the kissing couple and rolled her eyes. "God, is that all you two ever do?" she complained loudly. 

Sam snorted at her question. "You guys wanna take it back to that cabin?" 

_Shut it, Sam,_ Dean growled mentally and kissed Chloe more urgently. 

She wound her arms around his neck. _He's got a point,_ she thought, the breath hitching in her throat as they kissed, heat washing over her. 

_You started this,_ he thought and lightly bit her lower lip. _You gonna stop me?_

"And can you two please stop... thinking?" Sarah pleaded, a hint of laughter in her voice. She struggled to her feet unsteadily.

Likewise, Ava got up and steadied the brunette. She had sworn, just for a second, that she had been... somewhere else. That whatever freaky spell they'd cast had teleported her to wherever the hell they'd been, and she wasn't sure if she wanted any part of it. 

_Who said anything about stopping?_ she thought back, closing her mind off to everyone but Dean. _Let's go somewhere else. Please._

_Stop kissing me and we will._

Still feeling a little unsettled by what she'd witnessed, Sarah sucked in a shaky breath and looked at Ava. "You okay?" she whispered.

"Depends on your definition of okay," she grumbled and closed her eyes. 

Chloe reluctantly pulled away from Dean, her eyes hazy with sleep and desire. Her fingers itched to touch him, her heart beating quickly in her chest. 

Sam grimaced a little and looked over at Sarah and Ava, rising to his feet and sliding an arm around his wife's waist. 

Dean never took his eyes from her, but held out his hands for hers. "Think you guys can handle things here until morning?" he asked the rest of the gang absently.

Sarah snorted. "You going to make sure Chloe doesn't fall into a coma-like dream state again?" Her head throbbed and she put a hand to her forehead. She couldn't go through something like that again for quite awhile. Hopefully never. She felt Sam's arm pressed against her and Ava's tentative hand on her shoulder. 

"Are you okay?" Chloe turned to look at her, concern in her eyes. 

"Yeah, I'm okay," she whispered and felt Sam tug at her body. She turned her luminous eyes to his worried ones. "Really, I'm... fine." 

"I think you need to lie down," he said quietly, pulling her close. 

Sarah didn't feel like lying down; her eyes clouded over with rebellion against it. She wanted to stay up with Sam and talk with Ava, who looked like she had seen a ghost.

Dean turned to Sam and ignored his desires for a moment. "Dude, we should probably talk about Lex and what the hell all that was about." He glanced about the room: they all looked like they needed a week's worth of sleep, even Chloe, though she had been sleeping for over twenty-four hours. He turned to look at Chloe once more and wanted to laugh at the irritated look in her eyes. 

"I'll tell you what it's about," she replied. "Lex is an asshole even from beyond the grave." 

"Well, I'm pretty sure he won't be causing anymore trouble," Sam remarked, glancing at her and keeping his arm around Sarah. 

Dean smirked. "So we can safely assume the yellow-eyed demon's behind this?" 

"I think that's a pretty safe bet," she said bitterly, tucking some hair behind her ear and closing her eyes for a moment. 

"God, why won't that damn thing leave us alone?" Dean rumbled under his breath.

"Wait, the dude with the yellow eyes?" Ava asked, startled. Her hand slid away from Sarah. "The thing I saw?" 

Sam shifted his gaze to her. "Yeah. That'd be the one." His voice was quiet and he had a feeling if they didn't proceed with caution, Ava was going to take off. 

Ava opened her mouth to speak, but instead of words, all she heard was a loud squeak. It was like she had lost the ability to communicate. Doing herself in via poprocks and Pepsi would be a fun carnival ride compared to what she had gotten herself into. She began pacing the small room as she tried to catch her breath. 

Sarah looked at Chloe before shifting her gaze to Ava. "Hey, can we talk for a second?" she whispered to her. 

She drew in a breath, feeling weary as she nodded slowly, letting Sarah pull her into one of Bobby's guest rooms. "What's up?" 

A ghost of a smile flickered across her lips. "Thought you could use a calming moment, since you look like you're about to pass out." 

"Back at ya," she said wryly, touching Sarah's arm hesitantly. 

"I'll be fine. More concerned with you, actually." Sarah snuck a peek at the others in the room. They had all gotten very quiet, and she figured they were either straining to listen or chatting amongst themselves. "We're going to need your help, Ava," she continued after a moment, "but I know you probably have a million questions." 

"Understatement," she said under her breath. 

Sarah nodded solemnly. "I think Sam could answer most of them for you... that is, if you wanna stay up and talk?" 

Ava grimaced a little and snuck a look back at the others. "Better than watching Chloe and the other guy make out." 

"Don't mind my brother in law. He's... one of a kind." Sarah turned to watch Dean wrap an arm around Chloe's waist and pull her close. She smiled at the small yet protective gesture, because it spoke of the newfound bond they had obviously formed. Sarah couldn't have been happier or more relieved to see it. They were all together... and the demon was toast.


End file.
